RAS question
The Khilji dynasty was founded by Jalal-ud-din Khilji in which year?
Correct answer: (C) 1290.
Jalal-ud-din Firuz Khilji founded the Khilji dynasty in 1290, replacing the Slave Dynasty in the Delhi Sultanate.
Explanation
Jalal-ud-din Firuz Khilji's accession in 1290 marks the foundation of the Khilji dynasty after the Slave Dynasty. Encyclopaedia Britannica identifies the Khalji dynasty as a Delhi Sultanate line dated 1290-1320, founded by Jalal-ud-Din Firuz Khalji. For that reason, 1290, not the later Alauddin date, is the required year. Jalal-ud-din is remembered for lenient policies, but his rule did not continue into the next decade: in 1296 his nephew and son-in-law Alauddin Khilji murdered him and took power. The dynasty began with Jalal-ud-din's accession, while Alauddin's succession and the dynasty's end belong to later points in the chronology.
Why the other options are wrong
- (A) 1296 belongs to the murder of Jalal-ud-din by Alauddin Khilji and Alauddin's takeover, so it is after the dynasty had already been founded.
- (B) 1206 cannot be the Khilji founding year because the Khalji dynasty's span is 1290-1320.
- (D) 1320 marks the close of the Khalji line, not Jalal-ud-din's accession.
Concept
Delhi Sultanate dynastic chronology centers on clear sequence markers such as the transition from the Slave Dynasty to the Khiljis. Founder-date knowledge helps distinguish Jalal-ud-din's accession from Alauddin's later succession and the dynasty's end.